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Music
Randy Championed |
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This Thing of Ours 30 |
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As published in the August 2003 issue of 'Manifesto' |
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Steve remembers
thirty shining examples from the many superb soul sides championed
by Randy Cozens at the influential 6Ts nights during the late
seventies and eighties.
Soon after I first met Randy back in 1979, he started doing
cassette tapes for me of some of his favoured records. Those
tapes, along with the sounds played at the legendary 6Ts nights
in West Hampstead, Studio 21 (the old Last Chance Saloon)
and the 100 Club provided us'fresh faces' just out of our
teens with a wealth of new sounds and interest.
A group of us had at that time stopped going to Wigan, largely
because of the excessive pop being played there by certain
DJs, and the cost. So these sounds were so fresh, and above
all else top quality soul music, proven by the fact that they
stood the test of time admirably.
I should stress at this point that this is my Top 30 of sounds
that Randy put me onto. There were so many good records that
I ended up with a Top 50, but space only allows thirty records,
so there's a few honorary mentions included among the thirty.
I don't claim that Randy discovered them all, in fact he
didn't, he just introduced them to willing listeners such
as myself and many other lucky people. |
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1:
Arthur Alexander - I Need You Baby [Monument] |
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Randy was a big fan of Arthur Alexander, and we both agreed
that this was the best of them all, just piping "Show Me The
Road" (SS7) to the post. With its sublime vocals, this is a
sound that has gained more friends over the years as more people
have got to hear it, resulting in a considerable price tag today
for a slow record. |
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2:
Big Dee Irwin - You Satisy My Needs [Rotate] |
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Written by an extremely young Pam Sawyer and Lori Burton,
simply awesome. And simply the best beat ballad. |
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3:
Bobby Kline - Say Something Nice To Me [MB] |
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A tune that Randy made popular at the 100 Club in the early
80s. Having heard it round at Ady Croasdell's, he acquired a
copy from a young Ian "The Chin" Clark and it became
Randy's number 1 spin in 1981. The rest as they say is history
as this went on to be a popular Northern sound. Incidentally
Jack Montgomery's "Dearly Beloved" [Scepter] was also
championed in the late 70s at 6Ts (when a copy would set you
back a full £2! |
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4:
Maxine Brown - It's Gonna Be Alright [Wand] |
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Randy's all-time favourite female singer, and I think I was
the lucky recipient of her recorded work on cassette! Another
close run thing, as there are so many gems by Maxine.. I'd put
"Oh No Not My Baby" second, just as a snub to Rod
Stewart, whose butchering of a beautiful song remains one of
the worst crimes in soul music history. Other favourite Wand
gems from Maxine include "Since I Found You" and "Let
Me Give You My Loving". |
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5:
Caroline Crawford - When Someone's Good To You [Motown] |
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Along with Mary Wells, one of the real darlings of early Motown;
for me this shades it over her other releases. Such a subtle
piece from Motown, a record that was always popular 'early doors'
at Hampstead, and the perfect foil to the rawness of another
6Ts Motown favourite, Eddie Holland's "Leaving Here". |
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6:
Patrice Holloway - Ecstasy [Capitol] |
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The B-side of "love and Desire". A tale of young
love which has I feel far riskier lyrics than you might think,
taken at a romping tempo. I'd put this above "Stolen Hours"
and that along with another popular 100 mph fastie- just didn't
scrape into this top 30 - Girls 3 "That's How It Is"
[Chess]. |
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7:
Annette Snell - It's All Over Now [Epic] |
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Classic 70s midpacer, which has gone on to become an in-demand
70s sound, recorded just before her death. If only she'd finished
the album! I'm sure this got play at the 100 Club along with
other sounds Randy broke, like Cissy Houston's excellent "Love
Don't Hurt People" which is at Number 31 and featured a
young Whitney on backing vocals. |
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8:
Kenny Carlton - Lost and Found [Blue Rock] |
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A well known sound at the time it got spun, we got introduced
to it via enthusiastic plays at West Hampstead where it became
very popular. Van McCoy magic. |
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9:
Spooners Crwod - Two in The Morning [Cadet] |
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A classic instrumental from Spooner Oldham, which had all
the right ingredients and still sounds good today. Instrumentals
did play their parts at West Hampstead, and forgetting Bert
Weedon for a moment, other contenders included Juggy's "Soul
at Sunrise" [Sue], a sound that Mick Smith introduced to
Randy - Junior Walker's "Tune Up" [Tamla], Prince
Arthur's "Walkin' Uptown" [ABC] and the Holidays'
"Making Up Time" [Golden World]. |
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10:
Jackie Ross - Selfish One [Chess] |
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Of course Jackie had several great hits with Chess and so
honorary mentions must go to "New Lover" and "I've
got the Skill" which were in truth just as good, and should
be in joint 10th position. Sugar Pie De Santo's "Here You
Come Running" [Checker] also deserves a check point here. |
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11:
Lee Jones & The Sounds of Soul - This Heart is Haunted /
The Other Side [Amy] |
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Great ballads from masqueraders, masquerading as someone else.
Top drawer indeed. The B-side made it onto Bell's A Cellar
Full of Soul, but the A-side is the one I always preferred. |
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12:
Theola Kilgore - The Sound of My Man [Candix] |
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Another sublime piece of early 60s dance soul, this time playing
on the "Chain Gang" theme; perhaps the most popular
of her sounds with the crowd, but her version of "It's
Gonna Be Alright" on Mercury is equally brilliant. |
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13:
Jimmy Delphs - Alomst [Karen] |
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Detroit soul with a beat, not rare, just a great little finger
snapper which could do with more spins. Another Detroit sound
popularised by Randy at this time was Taurus & Leo's "Going
Out The World Backwards" [Velvet Sound]. |
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14:
Big Maybelle - Oh Lord What Are You Doing To Me [Scepter] |
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This must rank as the saddest record of all, about a woman
who's son was dying - got a full page review with artwork from
Randy in Blackbeat, and deserved it. |
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15:
Lenny o'Henry - Across the Street [Atco] |
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Actually an Ady discovery, and another biggie from West Hampstead.
Again not rare, and one that is not hard to like with its chugging
backing burbling away. |
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16:
Marion Love - The Right To Cry [Capitol] |
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Jerry Goffin and Carole King at their sublime best. No one
can ever knock Carole King for the contribution she has made
to 60s soul. I'd forgotten about this until recently - how?
But how nice it is to rediscover a record as good as this all
over again. |
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17:
Gene Redding - I Need Your Loving [Bell] |
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A couple of spins early doors at West Hampstead by Randy,
it was deemed a tad slow. And this was years before anyone thought
of the term "crossover" or this record gained the wider acceptance
it enjoys today. |
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18:
Nina Simone - My Baby Just Cares For Me [Bethlehem] |
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Randy told me this was popular with the West Indies crowd
in 1960. He reactivated it in 1980 at West Hampstead, and by
the time 6Ts moved into the 100 Club, it was so popular that
everyone was doing the congo around the 100 Club to it. It later
got re-issued and became a number 1 hit in the UK. |
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19:
Brooks O'Dell - You Better Make Up Your Mind [Bell] |
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Another artist whose entire repertoire was taped for me, and
another wonderful singer. I could have picked any of his Bell,
Gold or Columbia releases, but this is the best with its introduction
of castanets and piano before breaking into a dramatic dark
and moody sound. Brooks of course eventually became one half
of Brooks & Jerry. This one is right up John Gotti's street
too! |
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20:
Jock Mitchell - Not A Chance in a Million [Impact] |
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Relentless driving hard Detroit Soul. Once again this has
gone on to become a popular Northern soul spin. Swapped from
Randy to me in 1981 for Alfie Davison. |
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21:
Judy Clay - Haven't Got What It Takes [Scepter] |
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Sheer class from the late Van McCoy as our lark soars over
the swirling production in dramatic style. Another one i'll
never tire of hearing as Judy had such a powerful voice. |
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22:
Googie Rene Combo - Chic A Boo [Class] |
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From the same label as Buster and Eddie, this instrumental
is another one that caught the imagination of the London crowd
and filled the dancefloor in 1979. |
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23:
Gerri Granger - Can't Take it Like a Man [Bell] |
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Forget Ben E King's version, this is the one to own. So superior
to "I Go To Pieces... Everytime". Produced by Tony Camillo and
Larry Weiss - the Philly influence is there for all to hear. |
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24:
Bill Brandon - Rainbow Road [Tower] |
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Randy taped me four versions of this song and five versions
of Donnie Elbert's "What Can I Do" (nestling just below this
Top 30). Brandon's version is the best of the bunch for my money
on this deep soul beater. |
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25:
Kenny Carter - I've Got To Find Her [RCA] |
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More strained vocals, heart break and tears on this wonderful
piece of big city soul. "Don't Go" was a bit slower and another
one we both liked - probably because it was arranged by the
same guy behind number 30, Gary Sherman. |
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26:
Chuck Jackson - Hand It Over [Wand] |
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Another of Randy's favourite artists - this one just had so
much energy as Jackson barks the words out over a romping tempo.
It should probably be higher than number 26. Also especially
liked his "Two Stupid Feet". I always remember these two as
being popular, as was Tommy Duncan's "Dance, Dance, Dance" [Falew!]
which is at number 32. |
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27:
Jerry Ganey - Just A Fool [Verve] |
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This also got a full page review in Blackbeat and is also
now recognised by a wider audience than it was at the time -
a very atmospheric sound. A this point I must also give an honorary
mention to Dan Folger's "The Way of The Crowd" [Elf] which is
another personal favourite fro the beat ballad genre. |
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28:
Lew Kirton - New York City [Alston] |
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Killer big voice weepy from the 70s that appeared on my first
deep soul tape, sent to me in 1980, which also included such
gems as "Standing Room Only", "Drop My Heart Off at the Door"
and "I Fell Asleep", and turned me on to a whole new style of
music I might otherwise have missed. |
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29:
Etta James - Roll With Me Henry [Modern] |
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One of those authentic R&B sounds popular in the early days
of 6Ts that got us all up and dancing. Released on Sue in the
UK in the 60s though actually a 50s record. Roll on roll on
... apparently controversial when released because of the world
'roll' which upset US censors.
Another one in a similar style was Huey Piano Smith's "Don't
You Just Know It" [Ace]. In latter days Randy had much more
fun with Amos Milburn's "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer"
and the ultimate in double-entendres Bull Moose Jackson and
his "Big Ten Inch Record" [King]. Having banned Little Hank's
"Mr Bang Bang Man", no one knows what the BBC would have made
of Bull Moose! |
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30:
Zerben R Hicks - Lights Out [RCA} |
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A slowie to end on that was championed by Dave Godin - the
ultimate Vietnam song. Lights out then and thank you Randy for
introducing us all to these wonderful records. |
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